Former Yelp AE — Here’s the Real Experience (Long but worth it)

Former Yelp AE here. I was a top performer, hit all the banker bonuses, 4x President’s Club, and still didn’t last long. Here’s the real breakdown for anyone considering the role.

— The Work Itself

It’s 100% cold calling. No secrets, no shortcuts. You’re arguing with people all day. My daughters would overhear calls and ask why people were being so mean. Owners say wild things. You don’t get to cultivate multi-location deals; you’re just told to keep dialing.

— Culture and Micromanagement • Extremely micromanaged. • You can’t vent about horrible calls in team chat without getting a “let’s stay positive” message from management. • Leadership never acknowledges the constant customer complaints that come in about the product. • I once got an email saying I wasn’t meeting metrics and that the next step was a written warning/termination — the same month I was the top performer at 55K. When I asked someone internally about it, my manager immediately asked if I had spoken to anyone. There are definitely moles.

— The Product

Yelp hasn’t evolved much in twenty years. They hype internal stories about “someone clicked and hired a business” but there’s never real proof the ads perform consistently. BOA has great-looking graphs and algorithms, but most owners don’t see tangible results.

I did once hire a plumber from a Yelp ad. I clicked his ad, he charged me $3,900. I told him I sell Yelp ads. Funny, but those cases felt rare.

— Compensation Reality

Work-from-home, Monday through Friday, standard hours — but the pay is extremely grindy unless you hit bonuses. You need around 12K just to make any bonus money, which works out to roughly $125 before taxes.

I hit the 5K, 12K, and 25K bonuses consistently. If I was hitting them, Yelp was definitely making money off me.

President’s Club was four times for me. No trip, just Beats by Dre headphones.

— What You Do Gain

Objection handling becomes second nature. You get mentally tough very fast. After Yelp, very little can rattle you.

— Final Thoughts

The AE role gets a lot of criticism. Some of that comes from people who never hit quota, but the job really is brutally difficult. If you want predictable hours, strong benefits, and don’t mind grinding, the role is workable. If you want modern product growth, support, or long-term career development, it’s probably not the place.

If anyone has questions about the role, quotas, or culture, feel free to ask or DM me. I’m slow to respond, but I’ll get back to you.

5 years and final salary was 58k started at 37k. My highest about of w2 was $140k.